Nothing Lasts Forever
by Jeanette Wang
Summary: Takes place during Stark's party in the beginning of AOU. Maria excuses herself from the party when she receives a distressing phone call, and Steve comes to her comfort.


Maria was outside on the Avengers Tower balcony. Slowly pacing back and forth, she was having a deep conversation on her phone. Steve was inside, Sam had just left. He needed a breath of fresh air, and approached the balcony's glass door. He paused when he saw Maria outside, talking about something pretty serious. Her facial expression was coming off as slightly upset.

"Thanks... For calling..." She hung up her phone and tossed it into some decor bushes below the balcony that Tony placed for the party. She leaned against the railing, her head hunched over. Steve slowly pushed the door open. Her head snapped up and turned to see who it was, hearing the party music from inside. She looked back out into the quiet Manhattan night when she saw Steve shutting the door behind him. He walked up next to her, his hands in his pockets, wondering what she was thinking about, and why her phone just took a trip overboard.

"Taking a break?" Maria asked without looking away from the buildings. She winced and tensed up from a sudden icy breeze.

"Yeah, I'll probably never get used to Stark's parties." He sighed. "Are you?"

"Had to take a phone call. News going around all the time, you know?" Maria reckoned.

"From the looks of it, the news didn't seem too good." Steve commented, looking for her focal point among the buildings. Fury was probably giving her hell over something, maybe she threw her phone in annoyance.

"I've received worse." She admitted.

"Can I ask what it is? Or is it something classified." Steve gave a lighthearted laugh. Maria gave a little laugh too, shifting her body weight away from him.

"My, uh..." She shook her head, clicking her tongue. "My dad just dropped dead from a heart attack." She sighed without looking up. Steve turned to look at her, a little shocked, trying to see how she was reacting to it.

"Oh- I'm so sorry about that... Are you okay?" He asked quietly. She nodded her head absentmindedly, lost in thought. "Are you sure...?" He trailed off.

"What?" She snapped out of her thought train. "Ah, he was a shit father. Bastard had it coming." She rolled her eyes, clearly upset, which confused Steve. He was still looking at her, concerned. He reminded himself that all people grieved differently. "But then again, it's different when a parent dies. I don't know how to feel about it." She grimaced, crossing her arms and leaning back over the railing.

"How's the rest of your family holding up? Your mother?"

"She died during childbirth. That's why my dad hates me." She was suddenly quiet again, thinking she said too much about herself.

"Sorry… that wasn't a good question..." His stomach was churning, he felt terrible for bringing it up.

He broke the awkward silence, though it was only making him uncomfortable.

"Well, if there's anything I can do, just ask. I'll keep people from talking to you for the rest of the night, if you want." Maria finally looked up at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Where'd that come from?"

"Huh?"

"'Keep people from talking to me?' That's a first." Maria shook her head, wondering how anyone would know she'd want this sort of "quiet" privacy. Steve hesitated.

"When Bucky died, they could've at least stopped talking to me for a bit... I feel like everyone needs a little time at first." He sighed and leaned over the railing too.

"That's really thoughtful, thanks." She shrugged, mustering up a half smile for him.

"People do need hugs, though." He related, to which she accepted with a little smile. Something about their hug made her first tear fall, at the realization that the last of her family really was dead.

"Jeeze, you're really cold." Steve chuckled when they let go, pretending not to notice her tears.

"Ha, I originally came out here because I thought it'd be warmer outside. Stark always has it on ice box settings in there." She was wiping away her tears, there was a slight quiver in her hand. She couldn't tell if she was shaking because of how cold it was, or because she was crying. Steve took off his jacket and draped it over her.

"Wow, a true gentlemen. How many other ladies did you do this to 75 years ago?"

"Hey, now, Maria." Steve mumbled. "Wanna head back inside?" He suggested.

"Yeah, I needa get drunk." She mused, wiping away the last tear. Steve put an arm around her and they walked back inside the building together.

Natasha saw them enter, and her eyes grew wide. She stopped her and Bruce's conversation, nudging them towards Steve and Maria's direction. She tried to keep a composed face as they approached her bar.

"Last minute drinks together?" Natasha lost her poker face and played it off as a cough, Bruce was confused. Steve glared at her, and that's when she noticed something was off with Maria.

"I'll have a Roy Rogers."

"Just fuck me up." Maria insisted with a playful smile, looking around. She seemed oddly cheerful now, probably trying to put her father behind and enjoy the rest of the party.

Natasha's eyes widened at Maria's straightforward request.

"...Okay then! One cherry coke, and a shot of the world's finest vodka."

"Trust her, she's Russian." Bruce joked. Natasha playfully "slammed" their drink cups onto the bar and began filling them, smiling. Steve rolled his eyes. Vodka reminded Maria of her father, but she didn't say anything and downed it.

They ended up walking away with Steve's Roy Rogers and a Shirley Temple for Maria. He looked back over his shoulder to give a shrug to Natasha, and she nodded. Bruce was still confused. For the rest of the party, Steve stuck around Maria and did most of the talking. He was a bit worried over how fast she snapped into some persona as if nothing had happened earlier, but it must've came with being a world class agent.

It was almost 12 am, a majority of the party guests had headed home. Tony was pouring another drink as he argued with Rhodey over some bet they made earlier. Bruce, Helen, and Maria were having a conversation on the couches. Thor had excused himself to the restroom, Clint and Natasha had left the building half an hour ago out of pure boredom. They returned with Chinese takeout, Clint fiddling around with some drum sticks, joining Bruce, Helen, and Maria's conversation. When Thor came back from the restroom, he had set Mjolnir on the glass coffee table in front of them all. They had a short competition, attempting to lift the hammer, but only Steve made it budge slightly.

A sudden high pitched screech interrupted their party.

-A/N-

Hey guys! So this is my first fanfiction that I had the patience to write, the patience came from my sudden love for Captain Hill. I wrote this story so that you, the reader, could decide whether or not Steve and Maria's relationship is platonic or romantic as you read along (same with Nat and Bruce's).

I chose this scene because that's totally Steve's jacket Maria is wearing during the hammer lift scene in Age of Ultron, and I needed closure as to how she got it! Nat totally ships them together, which is why she's all giddy. Since drinking alcohol is pointless for him, I thought Steve ordering a roy rogers would be funny because of the name. I'm not sure if I'm going to add anymore chapters as of now because of a busy schedule, but your favorites and reviews are, as always, much appreciated :)


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